From Here
by Phabel
Summary: It starts with someone trying to get access to Princess Bubblegum's lab. I'm not sure what happens next, but we'll see where this goes from here.
1. Some dumb lump woke up the Candy Kingdom

**Note: This story essentially takes place in its own little bubble. Like an AU, only not quite. The goal is to sum up some of the biggest questions we've had, but since the real writers will do so much better than I ever could, I'm making this take place in its own, near-identical universe to that of the actual show. That way I won't feel guilty about going against the show's continuity.**

It was around five in the morning in the Candy Kingdom, and the entire city was sound asleep. A person could hear their breath and see the billions of stars in the sky with utter clarity, for not a lantern in all of Ooo was lit.

...Besides the one being held by some jerk knocking on the Candy Castle's gate. It wasn't even the usual polite _thump-thump_ that a person would use if the residents of a castle were asleep. Or even if they just wanted to spare their ears, for that matter.

Nah, it was more like:

_THUDDATHUDDATHUDATHUDTHUMPTHRASHBANGMOO_

There might've been a chainsaw sound effect mixed in there, too.

The knock was panicked, and more importantly, it was _loud_. Loud enough to awaken the entire castle, in fact. (Besides the Banana Guards. They'd grown accustomed to sleeping through events that potentially require their assistance.)

A groggy Peppermint Butler answered the door in his 'jammies. Rubbing his eyes, he muttered, "Isn't it a bit late to be visiting the castle?"

When he looked up, he was a bit surprised to have his eyes meet with a tall, flushed creature with brown hair and glasses. She was wearing a green turtleneck, holding a lantern, and had the impatient appearance of just having guzzled five cups of coffee.

She replied in an affirmed, demanding tone, "I need to speak with Princess Bubblegum. The matter is urgent."

Perhaps it was just the time of night, but there was something eerily familiar about this woman. Could she be...human?

"Could I at least have a name?" Peppermint Butler asked.

She looked him straight in the eyes and said, "My name is Betty Grof."


	2. PB is mad tired and stuff

"Whassgoinon?" mumbled a drowsy Princess Bubblegum, rubbing her eyes as she shuffled up to the door.

"Princess," Peppermint Butler addressed, and bowed elegantly as he did so. "Mz. Grof has requested access to your lab."

Princess Bubblegum, eyes half open, mumbled, "Access denied. She can stay for the night," (she yawned deeply), "but tell the Banana Guards to keep her under surveillance."

"Yes, Princess," Peppermint Butler replied. He bowed curtly, and proceeded swiftly from the room toward the surveillance office.

Betty placed her hands on her hips indignantly. "What, you're not even gonna look at me? I need to get this research done, and I need it done _now_."

"Look, I'd love to help but I've got a lot of important junk in that lab right now. Gizmos, bleenargs, paradimensional worm babies...I can't just have some amateur walk in and grunk it all up."

You know that look someone gets when you've pushed their buttons just right so that they get all red and their face scrunches up like a pug dog drinking lemon juice? _That._

"I dedicated my life to science! If anything, _you're_ the amateur! What are you, eighteen?!"

"Your entire life? What, a whole thirty years? Adorable. And, I am eighteen, by the way. Or, at least, biologically I am," PB replied with a deadness in her voice you can only get from having only had forty minutes of sleep.

"Follow me. I'll show you where the guests sleep," PB said, and turned around.

Betty sighed with frustration, seeing that the princess was not about to cooperate. Then, suddenly, she had an idea. The only thing that could convince a scientist who was ordinarily rational, logical, and sound of mind to make a gamble was the salacious call of curiosity.

"Wait," Betty demanded. PB stopped and turned around.

"What is it?" she asked in reply.

Betty cleared her throat. "My fiance's name is Simon Petrikov. You probably know him as the Ice King. He's been wearing -"

"Woah - _woah_. You're _engaged_ to _Ice King_?!" PB exclaimed, followed by a flood of bubbly laughter.

Betty didn't seem to find it so funny. "Yeah, yeah, I know he's kind of a load, but before he put on that cursed crown and got all crazy and biz, I was in love with him."

(Princess Bubblegum was amazed at her ability to say that with a straight face.)

"Where are you going with this?" PB asked. She was impatient to get back to sleep.

From her pocket, Betty pulled a small test tube with a tiny red pebble inside of it. "I was recently able to take this sample from his crown. My goal is to normalize him without killing him, but do to my lack of resources -"

"Woah! Lemme see that!" PB exclaimed, and rushed toward Betty with renewed energy. Betty handed it to her, and she held it at eye level, shaking the glass test tube just slightly so that it clinked back and forth on the sides. "How did you get this?"

"Well, I found that the mineral was incredibly hard, so I had to see an anthropomorphic goose to trade my flying carpet for a diamond tipped chisel."

PB held the sample up to the light, still clinking it around in its test tube. "Interesting," she mumbled.

"Then, I had to sneak in and steal the sample. I just did that like, an hour ago. It wasn't fun, but I got it, so now would you _please_ let me use your lab?"

The princess glanced up from the crown sample, grinned, and beckoned Betty to follow her. "C'mon! We don't have all night!" she called back to the human woman as she raced up the spiral staircase toward the lab.

And, so, Simon's cure was under way.


End file.
